Of Mushrooms and Gemstones
by Crimson Rogue
Summary: Having just arrived on Waffle Island, Akari applies for a job at the local blacksmith to help remedy her rather dismal financial situation. It was just supposed to be a part-time job, yet fate has other ideas for her... OwenxAkari -DISCONTINUED-
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey guys, here's another fanfic by yours truly. I initially had no plans on writing something like this, but the severe lack of OwenxAnglea/Akari stories forced my hand. It's odd, he gets so much love on some of the forums I go to but I have yet to find anything about him being paired with the main girl from TOT. Granted, there probably is one out there somewhere but I have yet to find it..

**P.S.** I am planning on making this a multiple chapters, however I would recommend you don't assume that I'll update very often. I'm rather bad about updating, as past attempts have shown. ^^;

**P.P.S.** Although I'm using the English names for most of the characters in this story I'm still going to call the main girl Akari instead of Angela. Why? Because it sounds cooler. xP

**P.P.P.S.** I'm going to be posting this on fogu . com/hm in the Fanfiction forums, under the username VanillaCookies. So please, don't delete my stories there again you guys.. *pokes the Fogu members* D: Not cool!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harvest Moon or the characters. (Though I do own the rat who will appear soon enough. X3)

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Today was the first day of the rest of her life. Well to be exact it was more like the fifth day of the rest of her life, but in Akari's eyes that day spent comatose at the Inn and the half week she spent as Craig's verbal punching bag technically didn't count.. Oh sure, the calendar might say otherwise but who cares about what that grubby little piece of paper said anyways? She certainly didn't, and as Akari turned to survey the small patch of land that had been allotted to her by the Mayor she couldn't help but feel a tinge of excitement bubbling in her chest.

She could see it now, fields full of healthy animals, a small orchard, and maybe even a few crops to help complete the image if her 'condition' permitted. Back home on the main land Akari had always been an animal lover, often volunteering in her local animal shelter and exotic sanctuaries. Many would often praise her skill in getting even the most agro of animals to become little more than purring kittens, with nothing more than her voice, a dash of self-confidence, and a calculated body posture. She would often dismiss these comments, stating that simply knowing how to act around animals was little to be praised for. That almost any of the other volunteers she worked with could do much the same as she, and often in a much better fashion. However, even she couldn't deny that her abilities were _slightly_ above average compared to her some of her peers. Though she paled in comparison compared to her mentor.

That said, her skill in agriculture was the polar opposite of her skill with animals. It wasn't simply that she couldn't grow plants properly, however much she often wished that were the case.. But rather that she couldn't grow anything at all. In fact, Akari seemed to have an uncanny ability to kill even the healthiest of crops simply by touching, looking, or even being within fifty feet of them. After many wilted, shriveled, and even burned , she still didn't know how that one cabbage plant had spontaneously burst into flames when she was watering it of all things, plant incidents when she was little, her mother finally decided to ban her from going anywhere near the local greenery.. Stating that she would lift the ban once her daughter grew out of her 'condition'. Well it was at least ten years since the ban was enacted, and she still wasn't allowed to even so much as glance in the direction of her mother's garden.. Though her mother had decided to lift the restriction when it came to tending to the few fruit trees that littered their property, saying that they seemed to be resistant to her 'condition'.. Oh, how happy she had been when that happened.. Ah sorry, rambling.. Still it went without saying that she held very little hope for growing anything that looked even remotely like a healthy crop on her new quaint little plot of land..

"Oh well, maybe the Soufflé Farm will have some crops that are resistant to my black thumb.. Those crops that Craig had me handling certainly didn't seem to change for the worse after I worked with them.. Hm.. Maybe I should check with them and see what selection they have in a little while.. Though first I need to find out how to make some money in the meantime. Maybe Ruth could give me some ideas..?" Nodding lightly to herself and with her mind made up, Akari began the hour long trek towards the Soufflé Farm.. Maybe while she was there she could ask them if there was some way to remove that dastardly root that was blocking the nearby pathway to her house.. She wasn't sure where it went, for all she knew or cared it could lead right into the bowels of some underground tunnel filled with sentient lime green gelatin that had developed a taste for human flesh, however her curiosity was now peaked and she resolved to find out if the root could be removed somehow.. Besides who knows, if she got really lucky it might actually turn out to be a short cut of some kind.

Apparently she had been in her own little world for far too long, as the next thing Akari knew she was already on the porch of Ruth and Craig's little shop, her hand already stretching towards the knob on the door. Funny how fast time seems to go by when you're losing yourself in your thoughts huh? Shaking her head to dispel any of the remnants of her gelatin filled musings, Akari allowed her hand to extend the final few inches towards the knob and opened the door.

Ruth was at her usual place near the counter, and although her usual look of exhaustion colored her face the sight of the young woman in front of her seemed to force a smile upon her face. "Oh it's you Akari. Do you need anything?" She asked, looking towards her with what Akari had deciphered as being a warm look during her short time with the woman.

"What? Do I need a reason to visit? Surely you didn't think I was lying when I said I'd come and visit you sometime?" Akari quipped, a look of mirth upon her face as she approached the woman whose family had so kindly taken her in days before.

Ruth chuckled lightly, "No I guess not.. Still you have to be here for a reason, unless of course you want Craig to give you another lesson in crop tending?" The older woman looked rather amused as she saw Akari blanch slightly at the thought of having to deal with yet another afternoon of Craig's incessant nagging…

"Sorry, a few days of his badgering is more than I can deal with at the moment." She laughed nervously, her hands waving lightly in front of her in a defensive gesture.. Oh no, she had embarrassed herself more than enough for one week thank you very much. Who knew the crabby old man could come up with so many nicknames for a person based upon the mistakes they made? Oh sure, Anissa had assured her that Craig only teased the people he liked but sheesh.. Since when did calling someone 'Wedgie Jr' become a way of showing that? "Actually I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I need some way to earn a living here while I get used to being a rancher, and I was wondering if you had any suggestions?" Akari sent a pleading look towards the older woman, hoping she would have some idea that could help her out.

"Hm.. Well you could always try and grow those potato seeds we gave you…" Akari blanched yet again, not too keen on testing her luck with the seeds so early in her stay on the island.. The trip through town showed that they didn't exactly have a working fire department after all.. Ruth ignored the look and continued onto the next suggestion, "Or you could always get a part-time job if you're feeling particularly desperate.. I remember Ramsey saying something about needing some help around his shop the other day, maybe you could check with him?"

Akari clasped her hands together excitedly, she knew she could count on Ruth to help her out! Well ok she didn't 'know' per say, but she had a good feeling that she would at least. "Really?! Great! Oh man I can't wait! Thanks Ruth!" She turned towards the door, intent on finding seeking out Ramsey and applying for the job when she realized, she didn't even know who Ramsey was! Sheepishly Akari turned back to Ruth, who was biting her lip in an attempt to keep from laughing at the other, and hesitantly asked, "Um.. Out of curiosity.. Who is Ramsey again..?"

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One short explanation on her future employer, complete with directions and a snazzy looking map of the island to prevent her from getting lost, later and Akari was well on her way. Hopefully she could trust Ruth not to tell Craig about her little lapse of thought earlier.. She really wasn't keen on adding yet another humiliating nickname to her growing list..

Shuddering at the thought of just what kind of name he might come up with, Akari decided to busy herself in the map Ruth had provided hoping to push the thought out of her mind.. Really, given Ruth's explanation of how close the Blacksmith shop, which Ruth had told her that Ramsey owned, was there was no reason for her to have been given a map. It was only twenty minutes down the road after all.. Still Ruth seemed keen on it, stating that it would help acquiant Akari with the island further as she continued to settle into her new home. To say she was grateful to the older woman was an understatement, who knows that kind of places she would accidentally wander into without the map? Akari thought back to her earlier ideas of gelatin filled caverns and attempted to suppress a shudder.. Yes, best she be able to tell where she was going..

Now let's see.. Ruth had told her that she'd be heading towards the first house past the local mines.. And upon looking up, she could see a telltale hole in the side of the hill signaling it's presence through the littering of trees that flanked the road on each side.. Find the mines? Check.

As she rounded the bend in the pathway, she could then see a large house standing proudly next to the mines. It was a rather large place, dwarfing her own small closet sized cottage several times over with it's mass.. It also appeared to be rather old, having a style of architecture that she had only seen in the old downtown areas of her old city. However unlike most of the houses in that areas of her old town, this place seemed to be in rather good repair, showing the dedication of it's owners towards it's upkeep. It just held a warmth about it that she couldn't quite describe..

Great.. Now she couldn't stop rambling on about a silly house.. 'This place must be getting to me', Akari concluded mentally.. Now wondering if she could potentially go to the Clinic she had seen earlier and inquire about a psyche evaluation.. Maybe she could get a discount if she asked nicely enough..?

'Clang!'

She was abruptly jolted out of her musings as the sound swept through the area. "What in the world…" Akari wondered allowed, looking around her to pinpoint the source of the disturbance with little luck.. Maybe it had just been her imagination..? Great, in that case make that psyche evaluation she had been previously thinking about one of her top priorities….

'Clang!'

Ok scratch that, it definitely wasn't her imagination.. Good thing too, the last thing she or her wallet needed was to have her finances commit ritualized seppuku in an effort to deal with her so called mental problems.. Of which there were many, but she didn't need everyone else knowing that now did she?

Still where was that sound coming from..?

'Clang!'

'There!' she mentally exclaimed as her eyes focused upon the area on the other side of the shop before her. With a determined look, she trekked towards the area that the sound was originating from, slightly curious to see what it was that had interrupted her earlier musings.. And as she rounded the corner she saw.. A man.. An incredibly muscular man… Wielding a hammer.. Gee, now she felt like a fool for getting so worked up over nothing. She sighed mentally, and turned to head back towards the shop..

"Hey I haven't seen you around here before, are you new?" A deep voice called out behind her, causing her to spin around once again. Apparently she had caught the man's attention, as he was now turned towards her a friendly smile coloring his tanned features.

"Um.. Yeah I am I guess.." She replied sheepishly suddenly feeling very self conscious under the other's warm gaze, kicking at the ground underneath her feet. "My name's Akari, and you are Mr.…?" She finally worked up with a small smile, reaching a hand towards him in what she hoped was a friendly gesture. 'Oh dear god, is it even possible for someone to be so muscular…?'

"Owen, and please don't call me Mr.. I'm only twenty-four." He said with a hearty laugh, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it firmly. "I take it you're the new rancher I keep on hearing about?"

His demeanor seemed to have put Akari at ease as her response came easier this time. "That's me." She smiled broadly, though mentally she couldn't help but wonder what he had already heard about her.. Hopefully Craig didn't go around telling the other villagers about the nicknames he came up with for the people around him… She didn't think she could live it down if the man before her, Owen as he called himself, ever got wind of them or her rather embarrassing mishaps during her stay at the Soufflé farm.. Oh she knew she could trust Anissa and Ruth never to tell, as much as the memory of said incidents seemed to amuse them, but you just never knew with Craig…

There was a slightly awkward pause on her part after that, but once she came out of her musings she decided to return to her earlier mission of applying for work.. "Um, well I'm sorry to bother you Owen.. I'll leave you to your work." With that Akari gave a light bow and turned back to the shop, not wishing to distract the other from what he had been doing for any longer..

"Oh you're not bothering me at all, though mind if I ask where you're going in such a hurry?" He asked curiously as he nonchalantly slung the over-sized hammer over his shoulder as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do.

Akari turned her head back towards him, "Well Ruth told me that there was a part-time job opening at this shop, and I was hoping to apply…" She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, torn between continuing the conversation with the man before her and figuring out if she could get the job as soon as possible...

"Well why didn't you say so? My grand-uncle happens to own this place, I'm sure he'd be happy to hear that he'll finally get that position filled." Owen said with a grin, happy to know that they would finally have some help around the shop. Then without missing a beat, and also catching the now surprised Akari off-guard he continued, "Come on, I'll introduce you to him. I'm sure he'll be willing to give the job to you." And with that he walked towards her and escorted her the remaining distance towards the shop entrance, not noticing the small smile that had spread across his companion's face..

'I might just enjoy this job after all…' Akari thought, her small grin slowly growing wider.

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Let me guess, that was really bad huh? XD Especially the ending, which I obviously rushed through.. Oh well I'm happy with it. :D

Go ahead and review to tell me what you think! I'll try to update as soon as possible, and already have an idea for the next chapter, but reviews will make me work faster. :)

P.S. I know I was a little hard on Craig in this chapter, but he just reminds me so much of one of my own mentors that I couldn't help but include him. He's definitely going to be in other chapters, Akari needs a little more embarrassment in her life, so stay tuned. :D

P.P.S. Yes I know that's not how Owen and Akari's first meeting happened.. I couldn't remember exactly what he did or said during the meeting, aside from giving you the hammer, so I decided to wing it... XD No worries, Akari is going to need that hammer so she'll end up getting it not long after she gets the job. :3


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Whoa, wasn't expecting people to actually like this story. XD

Well I hope this next chapter doesn't disappoint you all! Of course Owen and Akari aren't going to get together very quickly, I hate stories that have characters falling in love in under 0.2 seconds, but I promise that I will get to the fluffy parts soon. :3

_'Text here' _= Someone's mental thoughts.

"Text here" = When someone is talking.

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As Akari entered the large interior space of the building she felt her senses register the various sights and smells of the tiny shop that she soon might become a part of. For one, as one would suspect the place had a rather harsh metallic smell permeating the air, typical of what one would expect from a shop that dealt with the refinement and shaping of various ores and stones. Yet underneath that there was also a rather earthy smell, one that at first seemed odd next to the first more overpowering smell, but seemed to belong there all the same.. The smell of soil, dirt, clay, minerals, and countless other things strung together into one unique scent.. These two in turn merged together with dozens of other tiny smells, ones that were too faint for Akari to even accurately identify at first, into a rather homely scent that made the shop seem altogether more inviting than it originally appeared.

The layout of the shop also had a rather inviting feel to it, from the beautiful metal works adorning the walls to the way the hearth and forge were set neatly against one of the far corners. Of course, the place seemed a little too clean for it to be a blacksmiths shop but even that helped to add to it's charm… Though Akari certainly had to wonder how they managed to keep the place so tidy.. Oh sure, the forge area was covered in a light dusting of soot, burnt out charcoal pieces, and various other degrees of grime, but everywhere else it looked like someone had taken an industrial floor buffer, turned it onto the max setting, and let the thing run wild across the various surfaces of the building until they were suitably free of any blotches of dirt or filth.. All in all, it made for a rather odd picture..

"Miss, is there something you need..?" A raspy voice called out in mild annoyance, drawing Akari out of her previous musing like a proverbial slap in the face..

Sheepishly Akari turned her attention to the owner of the voice, choosing to ignore Owen's rather amused grin as she did so.. In front of her was a rather grisly looking old man, garbed in a sleeveless working smock, that seemed to be stained with soot and various other unmentionables, and various other working attire. His hair also seemed to defy the laws of gravity itself, for it was sticking out at various angles and points seemingly without that aide of any styling gel.. However the most defining feature that he held was his eyes that seemed to twinkle in amusement despite being set in what was otherwise a rather harsh looking face..

"Ah yes.. Um.." Akari chuckled nervously, suddenly unsure of what it was she was going to say next. After all this was the first time she had ever applied for an actual job that helped her pay the bills…

_'What should I say?'_ she mentally berated herself, unable to come up with anything mildly useful to say in the situation.

Thankfully Owen seemed to sense her nervous disposition and came to her aide, "Akari, this is my grand-uncle Ramsey." He smiled down at her reassuringly, before then turning to the other man in the room, "Ramsey, this is Akari. She's the new rancher that's taken up residence on the isle. Remember how Chloe was going on and on about her after she saw that TV special on the news?"

"Ah, so you're the one that's taken over that small plot of land near the river! Well it certainly is nice to make your acquaintance, are you going around the island and introducing yourself to everyone?" Ramsey asked amiably, no longer staring Akari down like he previously had been.

Akari breathed a sigh of relief before sending Owen a grateful look for so skillfully lightening the tension in the room, which he then returned with a small smile. Now at more ease with herself and the situation before her, Akari stepped forward with a small amount of new found confidence before addressing Ramsey. "Yes sir, it's a pleasure to meet you as well." She then did a small respectful bow before continuing, trying to keep her hesitance in check. "Actually I was hoping to apply for the part-time job that you are offering…"

"Hmm.." Was her only reply, as Ramsey took to inspecting her physical appearance upon hearing her request. In turn causing Akari's face to light up slightly in embarrassment.. To say she felt uncomfortable under his gaze would have been a gross overstatement.. It was just incredibly odd to be sized up in such a fashion by her would be employer, and she couldn't help but feel slightly self conscious as he did so..

_'Why is he looking at me like that anyways..?'_ She wondered nervously, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

With a tired sigh Ramsey finished his inspection, apparently unimpressed with what he was seeing. "And do you have any references per chance?" He asked, crossing his arms slightly deciding to withhold what he thought about Akari's lack of physique for now..

"Well I don't have any recommendation papers with me at the moment, but if you want I can give you the numbers of the animal shelter and various wildlife sanctuaries I volunteered for.. I'm sure they'd be willing to recommend me for the job." Akari mentally kicked herself, not amused by the fact that she had completely forgotten to compile a list of references and letters of recommendation before coming here… _'Stupid over excitement, you've done me in again..'_

The answer seemed to satisfy the older man somewhat, for the unimpressed look seemed to evaporate slightly from his face. Though for the most part he still didn't seem too willing to give her the job.. "I see, and how much can you lift? Surely while doing volunteer work you were put through your paces..?"

"Yes.. I did have to do a lot of grunt work while working at those places.. Why do you ask..?" By now Akari was becoming slightly annoyed with where the conversation seemed to be going, though she valiantly managed to keep it from seeping into her demeanor or voice.

"I'm simply trying to decide whether or not I should hire you Ms. Akari. You don't appear to be overly fit at the moment, and the help that I need requires one to be at least mildly strong in order to complete their tasks properly.. And you.." He looked her over once more. "Don't seem to fit the description at all.." The words range harshly in his ears, and for a moment he almost regretted lambasting the young woman so quickly.. Still when it came to the well being of his shop he was more than willing to be as harsh as possible if it helped to ensure it's continued success.

Akari felt her cheeks turn red with anger, not at all amused by what the man was insinuating. She was already well aware of how unimpressive she appeared to be in the physical strength department, having been well used to people underestimating what she could accomplish.. Yet that didn't stop the words of doubt from stinging each and every time they were uttered.. Why couldn't people seem to see past her twig like appearance? Just because she didn't have muscles bulging out of every surface of her body didn't mean that she wasn't just as capable of lifting heavy items as the next person was!

"Well excuse me sir, but since when does physical appearance alone determine my individual strength and ability to carry out tasks involving manual labor?" She asked, her tone clipped and her hands shaking slightly at her sides, looking at Ramsey evenly in the eyes as she spoke.. "I'm more than capable of handling types of work that involve physical strength in order to be completed, and can deal with whatever it is you throw my way." Her voice was struggling to stay at normal pitch with each and every word, though she refused to stop now. Chances were that this little protest would cost her the job, but at least she would leave with her integrity intact..

"So please, sir, do not make unfair assumptions of my abilities without at least giving me a chance to prove myself first!" Finally losing the battle to keep the pitch of her voice as normal as possible, Akari ended up nearly shouting the last part at the old man. She then continued to stare at him dead in the eyes, daring the other to argue with her.. All the while trying to subtly gulp in as much air as possible to refill her deprived lungs.. Who knew ranting could leave you so out of breath?

What happened next threw her off guard, for instead of retaliating verbally Ramsey just chuckled lightly at her display.. Chuckled! Shouldn't he at least have started yelling back at her, demanding she get off his property, or something…? Anything but what he was doing right now..

"W.. Wha… What's so funny?!" She demanded, confusion painted clearly on her face.

Ramsey just continued to chuckle, and without even so much as sparing her a glance turned to his grand-nephew who also seemed to have been overcome with amusement. "Well.." Ramsey began, "What do you think Owen?"

Akari looked between Owen and Ramsey several times, still clearly not understanding what was transpiring between the two men.. Had they gone insane or something…? Why does it matter what Owen thought..?

"I think you just lost this particular battle of wills Ramsey." Owen replied with a hearty laugh, turning to gesture towards the shocked and confused woman near him. "Akari refuted most of your claims rather nicely don't you think?" His eyes seemed to glint with a small amount of respect at her display.

"Agreed." Ramsey chuckled some more. "I guess I have no choice but to give her the job and see just what she can do then?" Cracking a rather wide toothy smile shortly before continuing, "Welcome aboard Ms. Akari. You wanted a chance to prove yourself, and here's it is."

Ok.. What..? Akari blinked slowly, trying to process the entire conversation that had just occurred.. So wait, that means that.. But why..? Mustering up the nerve to speak, Akari looked between the two men still confused beyond belief.. "Hold on… You were originally skeptical about giving me the job before because you perceived me to be too weak to handle the stresses it entailed, but now after I verbally lashed out you're more than willing to give me the job..?" She looked at Ramsey incredulously, surely there was no way that the old man could have changed his opinion of her so quickly..

"Don't get me wrong Ms., I'm still rather unsure of your abilities as a whole. However, I agree with you that it was unfair of me to treat you in such a way without first providing you with a chance to prove yourself." Ramsey replied, nodding slightly to himself as he uncrossed his arms. "Besides, I have to admire the spunk you showed in standing up for yourself."

At that Akari flushed slightly, suddenly feeling a little self conscious as she let his words sink in. Guess her argumentative attitude in the face of being doubted upon was finally good for something.. Normally when she argued her case with other people she ended up getting punished with a whole weeks worth of cage cleaning or something equally unsavory.. Like managing the visitor play center at one of the sanctuaries she volunteers at where parents could drop off their younger children as they went around to see the animals.. She still hoped to never see another dispenser of silly string again for the rest of her life… Still, it was quite a shock to see someone concede to her even in the slightest way, though she did wish to know what would need to be done in order to actually clinch the job..

Coughing slightly to rouse herself out of her rather disturbing musings, Akari decided to get to the heart of the matter before her mind strayed any further.. "Thank you for giving me a chance.. So.. What do you have in mind as far as proving myself goes..?"

Ramsey just gave her a rather self-satisfied grin, and suddenly she began to wonder what kind of hellish experience she was getting herself into..

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To be fair, Ramsey hadn't been particularly creative in his request. There were no attempts to make her start doing skilled metal work on the spot, no attempt to test her strength by making her run around the length of the island with lead weights attached to her hands, and certainly no attempts to make her do something completely ridiculous that would humiliate her for ages to come.. No, Ramsey asked her to do none of these things. Instead his request had been simple. Organize his work area in the basement, which was chock full of raw materials and various other knick-knacks of little importance to everyone but the blacksmith, before the day was done and the job would be hers. Sounds easy right..? Yeah, that's what Akari had initially thought as well.. However as soon as Owen had finished leading her towards the basement and had opened the door for her, she began to realize just how sadistic the old codger had been when he choose the task..

_'You have got to be kidding me…'_ She mentally groaned as she surveyed the layout of the basement, a look of shock and horror playing across her face..

The basement was rather small width wise, yet it's sheer length was simply amazing. Even more impressive, and currently one of the causes of Akari's unease, was the fact that there was a mountain of junk in the area that had apparently been designated for her to clean. Add onto that the fact that everything in the place had about an inch worth of dust and cobwebs attached to every surface, and you had one hell of a cleaning job ahead of yourself… Hmm.. Maybe she could ask Ruth if there was possibly someone else offering a job in the town..? Surely nobody else would be as cruel as to make her tackle such a task…?

"Don't tell me you're thinking of giving up already?" Owen quipped from beside her, quite enjoying being able to get a rise out of the rather zany young woman. Thankfully Akari didn't disappoint him in those regards, for as soon as the words left his mouth she seemed to snap out of her previous disposition and turned to regard him in annoyance.

"Of course not!" She declared, turning her head up slightly in a mock haughty posture seemingly full of confidence.

"Well good." Was his reply, a smile seemingly permanently stamped upon his face. "You might want to get started then, it's almost ten and you'll need as much time as possible if you wish to get it all done before the shop closes at five later in the afternoon." With that he began walking away, intent on getting back to the work he had been doing before this whole incident had occurred, but not before turning back to Akari to impart one last thing. "Oh and before I forget, there is an industrial sized vacuum down there under the staircase, that should help you get rid of most of the dust and cobwebs. Good luck." He then started to once again walk away..

Akari couldn't help but allow a small thankful smile to spread across her face and quickly shouted her appreciation towards him before he managed to get out of ear shot. "Thank you for everything Owen! I really appreciate it!" Unfortunately though since he was no longer within viewing distance she completely missed the sight of his grin growing even wider than before after her outburst.. Or his cheerful, 'You're welcome', that echoed behind him as he left the shop.

Taking a deep breath, Akari descended the stairs down into what she was sure would come to be her own personal hell for the next few hours.. Intent on at least showing herself that she was capable of tackling such a large task, and even more so showing everyone else at the shop that she was more than qualified to get the job…

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Four hours later, and Akari was seemingly half way through her appointed task. This should have been a monumental occasion worthy of celebration, or at least a quick dance of happiness, but all she could think about were the cob webs that were tangled in her hair, the dirt and dust that had smudged nearly every surface of her body, and of course the remaining items that needed to be sorted into place..

Tiredly she wiped the beads of sweat that were dripping down her brow with her arm, mentally going over each of the tasks she still needed to do. _'Let's see… I still have to organize that cabinet full of materials, move that dresser to one of the opposite walls, stack those bags full of charcoal under the staircase, dust the remaining surfaces…'_ The list just went on and on.. Though it should be said that she was eternally grateful towards Owen for telling her about the industrial vacuum before he had left. That alone had shaved several hours of needless sweeping off of her agenda, and was probably the only thing that had allow her to get this far into her cleaning schedule.

Resolving to thank Owen once again the next time she saw him, Akari dutifully went back to work trying to figure out which task she should tackle next.. Hmm.. That dresser looked to be a rather easy thing to move.. Maybe she should do that next? "Ah, why not.. It's not like I won't have to move it later anyways." She mumbled before grabbing both sides of the dresser and picked it up…

Only to find that a family of rats had made the bottom of the dresser their home and were not too please to be uncovered.. She only had a nano-second to register their presence before the tiny creatures began scurrying in all directions, including across her feet, causing her to nearly trip backwards with the dresser still in her hands. A few seconds of stillness then passed before she realized that most of the rats had emerged from under her heavy cargo before Akari let out a sigh of relief.. At least she could move now without tripping over something furry.. She then went back to her original task, and even managed to get half-way across the room, cargo in tow, before a shrill cry broke the silence..

"Squeak!"

Startled Akari dropped the dresser in fright, nearly causing it to slam into her toes in the process.. Wincing slightly at the near miss, she turned her attention towards the area the sound had come from. It didn't take her long to find the source, for there right on the ground behind her was a small orange/fawn colored rat with half it's body trapped under a rather heavy looking cardboard box.. Which was chock full of iron and various other ores, and that she must have knocked over when she nearly fell after picking the dresser up.. The poor thing was absolutely terrified as it flailed frantically under the crushing weight, sending out a shrill stream of pleading cries with each twist of it's body..

Without another word, Akari strode as quickly as she could without thinking towards the frightened animal before grasping the exposed part of it's body, ignoring the stinging bites that were made to the skin of her glove, and hefted the box off of it's tiny body with her other hand. Once it was free she quickly snatched it away, allowing the box to free fall back to the ground before cupping the small creature lightly in front of her face to inspect it's injuries..

For the most part the tiny creature seemed to be relatively uninjured despite nearly being crushed by the overwhelming weight that was pressed upon it just seconds before. It had since stopped attempting to bite her hand in a bid to free itself, and was now content to simply look straight into her eyes as she continued her inspection.. Now that she could get a better look at it she could see that it had a small solid round ring of white rimming each of it's eyes, the ring on the right side being larger than the left.. It also had a faint dorsal stripe running down it's tiny back that was almost invisible in what little light she had to work with… All in all, despite a few bruises to it's back end the creature was perfectly healthy, if not a little weird looking..

Satisfied with her inspection Akari took one of her hands out from under the rat, with it shifting onto the other for support, and lightly stroked it behind the ears affectionately before whispering lightly to it.. "Well it looks like you're alright little guy, I'm sorry for knocking that box on top of you.. I hope you can forgive me."

A little squeak was her only reply, and with that she smiled lightly before placing her hand down onto the floor to allow the small creature to go about it's way. The moment her hand touched down, the rat bolted a safe distance away before turning back to regard her curiously as she went back to work.

And that's how it remained for the next thirty minutes as Akari finished moving the rest of the furniture, including the ratty, pun not intended, dresser, to the other side of the garage, before turning to the other chores she needed to accomplish. All the while the steady feeling of being watched continued to gnaw at the back of her mind, causing her to continuously look back to the rat to see if it had finally decided to move off.. It hadn't the last time she checked... Though maybe it would be gone by now..? With a sigh Akari looked over her shoulder…

And it was still there…

Akari groaned in annoyance, and in response the rat just tilted it's head to the side never breaking it's stare.

Her eye twitched tiredly as she regarded the creature, and it decided it was high time to start working on that persistent itch behind one of it's ears.

This went on for awhile, with Akari looking over her shoulder and the rat returning the gaze each and every time.

Finally when she was seriously about to verbally scare the little thing off before it distracted her further, the doors on top of the stairwell flew open and what appeared to be a human bundle of energy came bounding down.. The loud noise that was being made as a result having effectively sent the rat packing into the nearest hiding place.

"Hello! My name is Chloe!" The bundle of energy proclaimed as it stopped in front of her, hopping up and down excitedly. "You must Akari huh!? I heard about you on the news, and then from grandpa just now! And…" The bundle, which she now could see was a small girl with flame like hair and rather colorful clothing, rambled on excitedly barely able to keep herself still as she did so.

Akari felt the urge to grab the girl by the shoulders and force her to stop moving so much bubble up inside of her, but decided against it.. It probably wouldn't work anyways.. So instead she decided upon giving the girl a disarmingly warm smile, time in that child care facility had taught her that smiling always helped around children, before interrupting her never ending chatter. "It's nice to meet you too Chloe. If you don't mind my asking why did you come down here? Surely I'm not interesting enough to warrant your coming down into this dank place?" She finished with what appeared to be an entertained smile, much of which was by now real as she continued to observe the girl.

"Oh! Sorry, I almost forgot." The small girl exclaimed loudly before she began to frantically dig into her pockets. Then after a few moments ended up producing a neatly wrapped sandwich from the depths of one of the pockets, which she promptly offered to Akari. "Here! My cousin Owen said both he and my grandpa wanted me to give you something to eat when he came into the mines today! It's a little smashed, but it should still be alright." A toothy grin firmly planted upon her face as she said each word, glad to help her cousin out in some fashion.

"Owen did..?" Akari blinked slightly, not expecting someone she barely even knew to show such concern on her well being. Though she was clearly starting to see a pattern when it came to him..

"Yeah! He seemed kind of worried that you wouldn't be able to get out and eat anything after being stuck down here in the basement of **no return**." The last part she said with a harsh grimace, obviously not liking the thought of being down here for long spaces of time, before continuing.. "He's always like that actually, worrying about others and all." She said with a laugh, still eagerly holding the sandwich up for Akari to take.

"Ah I see.." Akari chuckled slight before accepting the sandwich gratefully from Chloe's waiting hands. "Chloe thank you for bringing this to me. I was sure I'd starve down here before too long." She said with a laugh, inciting a giggle from the younger girl.

"No problem Akari!" There was a sudden shuffling upstarts followed by various mumbled words and what sounded suspiciously like the beginnings of a rant.. "Ack..! I have to go now.. Grandpa doesn't like it when I'm down here for very long.. See ya later!" And with that she began bounding up the stairs at break neck speed, shouting placating words up to whom Akari assumed was Ramsey as she went. In the blink of an eye she had already crested the final step on the staircase before grabbing the door and shutting it once more, leaving Akari in near darkness once more.

Quietly Akari began to unwrap the sandwich from it's plastic shielding, taking time to note the ingredients as she went.. Eventually she determined the sandwich to be a BLT in origin, and wordlessly found a spot on the ground to begin nibbling on it.

She hadn't taken more than three bites however before she eventually felt something crawl into her lap. Which upon looking down happened to be the same rat from before. How it wasn't showing any fear of her was beyond Akari's comprehension.. Maybe it was too young to develop a fear of humans..? Regardless, the little thing was now sniffing curiously at food in her hand, obviously wanting to know if it was edible or not.

"Geez, you're a persistent little guy aren't you..?" She muttered as she looked down at the creature, who now having clearly decided that the food must indeed be edible was giving her it's best rendition of a puppy-dog stare..

"Nu-uh, no way.." She began, trying to shield her sandwich away from it's prying eyes.. However Akari had to admit that she underestimated the effectiveness of it's stare, for it wasn't long before she felt her opposition melt into a pool of goop at the sight of the small creature and it's expressive eyes.. Curse these creatures and their beady little eyes!

"Fine.. Here…" She grumbled, breaking off a piece of the sandwich and placing it into the little creature's waiting paws. The little thing must have been rather hungry, for the moment the food was in it's possession it began to devour it at a tremendous pace, nearly putting Chloe's own show of speed to shame.. Wow.. Now that was surprising...

And that's how Akari and it stayed for the better part of the next ten minutes, her eating the sandwich she had given as quietly as possible, every so often breaking a piece off for her small would-be companion to partake. Soon the sandwich had been eaten out of existence and Akari having found that she had nothing else to hold her back from her original task slowly began to rise from the ground, the rat scurrying up to rest on her shoulder as she did so, intent on getting everything done before day's end.

The rest of her work went quickly, possibly from the companionship that the small rat provided, and before she could even register the change in time she found herself standing in front of Ramsey awaiting his verdict on the state of the basement.. The rat having since disappeared once more, much to her surprising disappointment.

It seemed that he was mildly impressed with her work, though he couldn't help but point out the various thing she could have done better. Which of course earned him a light glare from the tired Akari. Still despite the nitpicking, Ramsey had stated quite clearly that she had done a rather passable job, and kindly bade her to return home and wash up before returning to work the next day. To which she did a small mental dance, far too sore to bother with such trivial things in the real world, and slowly made the trek back to her small hovel of a house.. Not noticing that the weight in her satchel had grown slightly, nor the slight sounds of claws meeting leather that could be heard each time she shifted her weight from one extreme to the other..

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**A/N:** Alright, I originally cut this chapter in half but decided it looked too short when I posted it initially.. (2200+ words isn't short, but since I pack them so densely together it looked incredibly scrunched up.) So I strung it back together and continued working on it. The last part is rushed as you can see, I've spent the past seven hours on this and got tired towards the very end, but all in all the chapter is as I had planned.

The rat does play a part in the story, although it's rather small, and frankly I thought Akari needed an animal friend to keep her company given how long it takes in the game to get animals of your own.

Also sorry if some of the characters seem OOC, Ramsey especially.. I just picture him as being rather strict about who works at his shop seeing as his income depends upon his own skill AND the skill of the people working for him. However I tried to redeem him slightly in a few places to make it a bit more obvious that he's not being an uncharacteristic bastard.

P.S. The next chapter WILL have a ton of Owen x Akari interaction and potentially some fluff. I just had to get all this plot building stuff out of the way first before I started on the more romance driven parts. xD;;


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Wh00t! Another chapter.

Alright everyone, I'd like to apologize for taking so long.. I actually had well over 2000+ words for this chapter done over a month ago, but then college starting picking up and I haven't really been in the right frame of mind to finish the rest until recently.

I just want to clarify something else though before I let you all read the chapter, Akari really isn't very 'kick butt' in this story, especially not at this point, just opinionated and more than willing to stand up for herself if necessary. Also I apologize if Owen seems a little too interested at this point, he's a pain to write any other way because he's just too damn nice for his own good.. D: I'm having trouble balancing his nice guy attitude and how he's treating Akari, because at times it does appear that he's more interested in her right now than he really is.

This chapter was also supposed to be a LOT longer and with actual AkarixOwen interaction, but I had a change of plans. (Read my Authors Notes at the bottom for more info.)

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There was something to be said about waking up in the morning. Feeling the sun caress your face with the utmost care as it urged you to greet the new day, the echoing sounds of the birds as they chirping happily in all conceivable directions, the smell of the morning dew that had condensed upon the grass the night before, all of these things were a part of the accepted morning ritual for most living beings.. Akari was usually no exception, for she relished these usually insignificant details and had come to love each of them in their own unique way..

Today was different however, for rather than appreciating the warm sun as it danced across her face through the glass panels of the window next to her motley straw bed, she felt nothing but a budding sense of aggravation at it's intrusion into her tiny home. The sounds of the song birds, which she normally loved ever so much, were now little more than blaring sirens in her ears, breaking the small reprieve that the previous night's sleep had brought to her weary body.. Even the smell of the dew seemed to burn unpleasantly in her nostrils, as it too dragged her further and further from the dark void that she had mentally constructed for herself and coiled into the moment her head had hit the pillow the previous night.

Hoping to preserve the last remnants of the tranquility that she had so carefully crafted, Akari tried to shift her body slightly away from the emblazoned window. This attempt ultimately failed however as she came up woefully short when the pleading of her tired muscles and the weight upon her stomach would allow her to go no further..

'Great.. Just great…' She grounded out mentally, clenching her eyes tightly together to block out the persistent rays of the sun that seemed intent upon burning her retinas. Maybe if she could…

Wait…? A weight upon her stomach..? How was that possible..? Surely it wasn't her pillow? To put this to the test Akari tiredly groped around with one of her hands in the general direction of where her head was resting until it fell upon the object in question, still in the same place as it had been the night before. Ah, so it definitely wasn't her pillow then.. But what could it be? It had been years since Akari had slept with any stuffed toys, and she was sure she had relocated her dirt stained work clothing and satchels to the kitchen area, Hamilton had of course neglected to add a washing machine to her small home, for a good washing before stumbling into bed..

Groaning slightly in annoyance Akari finally cracked open her eyes to spy what it was that was bothering her so.. Mentally promising herself to inflict a large amount of pain upon the culprit, inanimate or not, as she did..

Of course, her agitation turned to a numbing sense of shock as Akari locked eyes with the rat from the night before. Said rat had apparently made itself quite comfortable on her stomach area, as it was curled into a tiny ball with it's tail looping around it's body securely. It's beady eyes steadily returning her gaze in an almost blasé fashion, as if it suddenly materializing in her home and then resting upon her stomach were the most normal actions in the world for it to take.

Akari allowed a startled yell slowly crawl it's way up her throat, but soon after felt it die before it could reach her parted lips. Great, apparently she was too tired to even scream right now.. Just peachy.. She didn't necessarily wish to make a fuss over the little creature's uncanny ability to materialize out of thin air, though it did give her a slight jolt, but it was slightly off putting that her body refused to partake in such a simple action.

"And what, pray tell, are you doing here…?" She slowly groaned out finally, wincing at just how scratchy her voice sounded to her ears as she regarded the rodent. She knew the rat couldn't answer her, let alone probably even understand what she was saying, but maybe it would leave her alone if it sensed the agitation in her voice…

The small creature simply let out a yawn before it began stretching it's body out fully with it's tail end up in the air before returning to it's previous position, clearly having no intention of humoring Akari at the moment. If the nice girl wanted something from it, she'd best just go back to sleep and wake it up again later.. Now back to dreaming about those delicious corn puffs he'd found that one time!

Akari felt her eye twitch slightly, which was quickly becoming a habit around the rat, and without another word deftly picked the rat up and brought it before her face in an attempt to garner it's full attention. Which of course, earned a squeal from the creature as it dug it's claws desperately into the fabric of her comforter to stay in it's once cozy little spot. It promptly let go of the fabric, though not without leaving several visible gashes in it's wake, not long after and let itself fall limp as both Akari and it regarded one another.

She just couldn't figure this little creature out! It wasn't acting anything like the rats she had handled at the various volunteer jobs she had had previously, and given her having been assigned to the snake enclosures for several months out of the year at the exotics shelter, she was pretty sure she'd be well versed in their behavior patterns. Oh don't give her that look, the rats were always humanely killed and well cared for, practically treated like royalty, even before they got fed to the snakes. No need to call PETA or do anything drastic..

Anyways..

For one, wild rats are generally afraid of people. The rest of this little guy's family seemed to fit the mold given how they reacted the day before.. And she seriously doubted that Chloe would have gone down into the 'basement of no return' as she had called it just to befriend one little rat and get it used to human company... The rat also didn't appear young enough to not have developed a fear of humans… So why was this little guy so completely unaffected by her presence to actually follow her home? Akari knew animals could sometimes develop a bond with someone if that person happened to rescue them from a dire situation, but all she did was lift a crate off of it's body.. It's not like she rescued the little guy from a rat poison infested mine field that was surrounded by dozens of pressure sensitive mouse traps or something equally ridiculous… It might have been the food she had given it, that thought had crossed her mind, but that still didn't explain why it ended up in her lap to be fed in the first place..

Letting out a heavy sigh Akari finally decided that it was way too early in the morning for such exhausting conundrums.. Best just to get dressed, eat what little food she had brought with her and what had been given to her by Ruth and Anissa before she left the Soufflé Farm, and make her way back to the blacksmith's for her next day of work.. Maybe she could sneak the little guy back to his old home when she got there..? It was worth a try.

"Might as well get some food for the both of us before you go back, eh? I hope you like corn puffs little guy, because that's all you're getting…" Akari mumbled as she slowly extracted herself from the tangle of covers and sheet, with the rat still in her hand. Of course, had she known how addicted the little guy apparently was to the little puffs of corn she probably would have just let the both of them go hungry for the day and left it at that.. However the excited squeaks that came from her little companion at the combination of the words 'corn' and 'puffs' now made it entirely impossible for her to change her mind.. Oh well.. How much could the little guy eat anyways?

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Apparently a lot..

Unfortunately Akari had underestimated the small creature's voracious appetite, and sadly her house had paid the price for her mistake.. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to try and take that bag of corn puffs away from the rat.. It wasn't that she was trying to starve the poor thing, but you would think the rat would have been full after eating 2.6 bags of corn puffs in less than the space of ten minutes…. Apparently the rat didn't seem to agree, for the moment she tried to save the last two-fifths of the final bag the rat had decided to make a run for it, bag and all…

Now her home would probably be classified as an official disaster zone by anyone else that happened to have the misfortune to come across it at the moment.. The drapes were falling off their railings, the chairs and tool box had fallen to their sides on the floor, the sheets from her bed had somehow ended up half way across the room, corn puffs and random pieces of clothing from her overnight bag littered nearly every conceivable inch of the flooring, and the ceiling was now covered in layer upon layer of little muddy paw prints.. Akari didn't even want nor know how to explain how the last one had happened…

Needless to say, the entire interior of her quaint little abode was in complete disarray.. And with no time left to clean it before the Blacksmith's shop opened, Akari was forced to leave it that way until she returned later in the evening. Heck, she barely even had enough time to change into one of her spare pair of jeans and tank tops before she left.. It was honestly one of those times when Akari was truly grateful towards her mother for always nagging her about bringing a couple spare changes of clothing whenever she went somewhere abroad..

And it was all because of the tiny little creature that was currently happily hanging out on Chloe's mop of bright red hair at the moment..

Oh? Did Akari forget to mention that in addition to not being able to put the rat back into the basement where it came from when she arrived at work earlier, she had also been caught in the act by a very enthusiastic Chloe who now seemed incredibly intent on convincing her to keep the little guy..?

Yeah, just what she needed after the hellish morning that she just experienced.. An overly hyper nine year old attempting to harass her for hours on end into keeping the little creature with a bottomless appetite; all while Akari was trying to painstakingly reorganize their storage system as per Ramsey's newest request… She only knew the man for two days, this one included, and she swore he was starting to sadistically enjoy delegating all the harder tasks around the shop for her to do..

Someone, or something, up there must really be out to get her…

"So Akari! What are you going to name him? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Chloe nearly shouted out happily, breaking Akari out of her reverie.. "Come on, you gotta name him something! What do you think about the name Fred? Pete? Cole? Pick something already! :D" (A/N: And yes, that smilie face was completely necessary. xD)

Dear god, or was it goddess? Did this child ever calm down..? Don't get her wrong, Chloe was slowly but surely worming herself into Akari's heart with her cheerful attitude and outlook on life, but Akari was seriously wondering where she got all that energy from.. Did she somehow manage to dump several cups of raw sugar into her bowl of cereal in the morning behind Ramsey's back? Akari just couldn't imagine that the old man would willingly make or abide by the kid this being this energetic if the locked spice cabinets she saw earlier were any indication.. Or was she just naturally this bubbly?

"Akari!" Chloe's impatient, yet still strangely cheerful, voice once again broke Akari out of her rather annoyed musings.

"Sorry Chloe, but I'd rather not give it a name.." Akari said with a sigh as she stopped what she was currently doing to rub her now aching temples.. Where did Ramsey keep the aspirin in this place…? Besides, to name an animal was the first step in becoming attached to it and the last thing Akari wanted right now was to become attached to that corn puff stealing, ceiling walking, no good disaster in the making rat…

"Then I'll name it for you! Now let's see, um… How about Eggo? :D" Chloe exclaimed, not letting the older woman's desire to have nothing more to do with the rat ruin her persistence. Besides the rat apparently like the name, if the happy squeak and it's running around the peppy child's pig tails were anything to go by.

Akari blinked warily as she turned to regard the other.. "Eggo..?" What was with these islanders and their obsession with food related names? It was kind of amusing at first but she was seriously starting to question their sanity at this point.. Sure some of the names were tolerable to an extent such as Maple Lake and Praline Forest.. But who in their right mind would name an entire town after a waffle of all things…?

"Yup! Eggo! Sounds nice huh?" The child said with a self-satisfied smile as she looked up at the rat who was now partially hanging off of her forehead. "You think so too huh?" Reaching up to stroke the creature along it's exposed back as she spoke.

Squeak! Was the excited reply as the rat, or Eggo as Chloe seemed determined to call it, swished it's tail back and forth in excitement. He was really starting to like this girl!

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending upon your perspective, before Akari could argue against naming it anything at all the sound of Ramsey's voice calling her towards the front of the shop interrupted their little conversation..

'Finally..' Akari let out the mental equivalent of a sigh of relief, 'Saved by the grouchy old man…' Turning towards her younger counterpart Akari managed to pull together and show a rather apologetic smile, though she was quite happy for the reprieve, before walking towards the front of the shop to see what Ramsey had wanted from her.

She didn't miss Ramsey's annoyed, yet ultimately good natured, statement of "Took you long enough.." as she entered the main part of the shop.. But instead of giving her own snarky, yet also good natured, reply opted to focus her attention more upon the various crates and small boxes that were stacked neatly along the far wall.. Weren't those the boxes Ramsey had ordered her to fill with various tools earlier in the day..? She could have sworn they were still back in the kitchen the last time she checked..

Akari turned her attention away from the neat rows of containers to regard Ramsey with a curious glance, confusion showing through her eyes as clear as day.

Ramsey merely grunted slightly as he wrung his hands together in a old ragged piece of cloth in a poor attempt to remove at least some of the grime from his hands after slaving over his forge for the past few hours.

"Well..?" Akari implored as she waited for the other to finish cleaning his hands, a task he seemed intent upon finishing before he satisfied her curiosity. If she didn't know any better she'd say someone had harangued the old blacksmith repeatedly about doing such things before leaving the forge area.. After all he didn't seem to particularly enjoy the task, and went about it in the same manner a child who had been properly chastised by their parent into doing their daily chores.. Akari nearly shuddered as she wondered just what kind of person it took to beat such a simple action into the stubborn old man's head..

Maybe if she ever met them, they could give her a few pointers..

"They're deliveries." Ramsey finally said as he put the rag away, all the while grumbling something about how much trouble women were and how if he ever had his way he'd have nothing else to do with the whole lot of them. Especially the ones with light violet colored hair..

"Oh.." Akari replied slowly. Well that made sense. "So who is going to deliver them..?"

"Why you are of course." Ramsey replied with a rather amused grin as he stepped over to the large shipment in front of them. One could almost feel the amusement he was feeling exuding from his being..

"Me…?!" Akari squeaked, looking at the various containers in front of her.. The small boxes she could handle, but those crates had to weight at least thirty pounds each..! While Akari prided herself on being able to handle a fair amount of manual labor she wasn't stupid.. There wasn't a snow ball's chance in hell that she could actually carry all those crates, of which there were three in total, AND balance the smaller boxes at the same time..

"Yes, you." Ramsey continued to grin. He had only known the young woman for two days and he could already tell he was going to enjoy having her around. He had been getting bored lately without anyone to tease to be perfectly honest, and Akari was far too tempting a target to pass up.. Not his problem that she was so easy to rile up.

Hesitantly Akari looked both at the boxes and then him once more, the look upon her face showing him quite clearly that she thought he was absolutely manic to request such a thing.

"Oh stop that. You'll have help." Ramsey chuckled, really Akari was just too easy to freak out. He then turned his head to regard the spot just back where Akari was standing and bellowed, causing the other occupant in the room to jump into the air in shock. "Chloe!"

Before Akari could even so much as blink the young girl had somehow materialized in the room, though surprisingly Eggo was nowhere to be seen, and then threw her hand up in what would have appeared to been a mock salute before speaking, "You called?"

Akari openly gawked at the younger girl, surely Ramsey would not be so cruel as to assign Chloe as her help..? Part of her doubted that the old grump would seriously consider assigning tasks involving hefting various things that weighed a third of what she did, the old man was far too devoted to the child to consider such a thing, but you just never knew.. Then again it could be that she was just developing a severe sense of paranoia in the wake of the stress that she had felt earlier in the morning.. Maybe she should look into finding a local shrink or something similar…

Still, Akari thought as she turned to regard the two for a brief second before Ramsey decided to respond, if he really did make Chloe her partner on this particular task Akari swore that she would do whatever she could to make the man's life a living hell for the next week or longer… Again, she was starting to adore Chloe a good deal but even a saint would be driven to the point of insanity at the prospect of having to spend a couple hours hefting around heavy objects with the sugar crazed child. Who, you might recall, was also now accompanied by an equally corn puff crazed rat.

Speaking of which, where was Eggo, Akari was slowly but surely realizing just how futile it was to deny Chloe's attempts to name the creature, anyways..? He was practically glued to Chloe's scalp a few moments ago.. Where could he have gotten too…?

"Chloe." Ramsey chuckled patiently, his facial expression softening as he regarded his granddaughter. "What did I say about saluting..?"

At this the younger girl pouted slightly as she lowered her arm back down to her side, not at all happy that she had been chastised for her previous action. Still a smile eventually crept back onto her face as she looked back at her grandfather. "That you should never salute someone if you aren't in the service as it's seen as dis.. diss.. disrespectful to the other person?" She stumbled over a couple words, her face scrunching up into a sour look as she did so, but otherwise managed to recite a lecture she had been given in the past about said subject.

Ramsey seemed pleased by this, for he let a large smile break out on his face as he responded, "That's right. Now would do you happen to know where your cousin went?"

"Owen? Hmm… I think he's still in the mine right now. Why? Do you need him for something?" Chloe asked curiously, shifting from one foot to the other in apparent boredom. A child can only stand staying in one place for so long after all.

"In the mine huh..? Figures. Alright then, Akari would you mind going to get him?" Ramsey asked as he turned to the other. "While you do that Chloe and I will finish going over the inventory in the boxes to make sure everything is as it should be." With that he turned around and began asking Chloe to help him find the sales sheets for this particular shipment, which Chloe was only too happy to help with. Almost enough to give her rendition of a pirate salute again.. Almost.

With a slight smile coloring her face, Akari turned and left the shop without a word, shaking her head at their antics as she did so. Really, it was strange how at ease she felt around the two of them now despite only knowing them for the span of two days. Oh sure, Akari still thought Ramsey could be a sadistic jerk at times, case in point her little trip to the basement of no return; but one really couldn't help but see him in a new light when observing his interactions with the rest of his family. Akari chuckled to herself, really Ramsey seemed to be little more than a big softie when you got down to it.

Of course, Akari would have loved to say that the short walk to the mines was a fairly uneventful one, but fate seemed rather determined that day to ensure that nothing be that simple.. And the sound of tiny paws scurrying across the dirty road where her only warning before…

WHAM!

"Gah!" Akari cried out in shock as she felt something slam into her leg at full velocity. So much for an uneventful stroll to the mines..

Wincing slightly at the sting the impact had left, she turned her attention down to the culprit only to find herself starting face to face with, you guessed it, Eggo. Whom seemed rather determined at the moment to leave the spot where he landed on her leg and make his way up to her shoulder, all the while using the fabric of her jeans and shirt for leverage.

Groaning slightly, Akari eyed the small rat warily.. Why couldn't he have just stayed behind with Chloe..? They seemed to have been getting along just fine. After a few moments of watching the rat struggle up her clothing Akari decided enough was enough and gently picked Eggo up by the scruff of his neck, before bring him level with her face.

They stayed like that for a brief moment, neither breaking eye contact, before Akari let out a small sigh of defeat and smiled softly at the creature. "I guess it's futile to stop you from following me huh..?"

"Squeak!" Eggo exclaimed as his tail began to wag back and forth in apparent happiness, making him look like some kind of demented, yet cute, puppy dog. He didn't quite understand why he felt the need to follow this human everywhere, he actually quite enjoyed hanging around the smaller one called 'Chloe', but at this moment it didn't matter. All he knew was that his instincts, and sense of affection for the human after she saved him were telling him to do so. The fact that she seemed to be loosing up after the incident in the morning was a good sign. Maybe if this kept up he'd get more corn puffs when they went back later!

Akari found herself chuckling slightly as the rat expressed it's excitement, "Well then I guess that's that.. Still you're going to have to stay in my satchel for the duration of the trip you understand? I don't want you frightening anyone."

Eggo gave what Akari later decided was a rodent version of an annoyed huff at that, though he seemed to silently agree to the terms that were being put forth. Really though! Who'd be scared of a cute little guy like him? Of all the absurd things to think…

Shaking her head in amusement, Akari undid the latch that held her satchel closed and gently lowered the rat into it's confines. It took a moment for him to get situated, it might surprise some of you but satchel's aren't exactly terribly comfortable, before he poked his head over the side and squeaked to Akari to let her know he was ready.

"Well here goes nothing.." Akari muttered to herself, turning to enter the mine.

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**A/N:** Ooooh! I wonder what happen's next. D *shot'd*

Sorry guys but there was a change of plans. This originally was just one part of the original Ch.3, but since I'm taking so long to write the rest I figured I should just split the thing in two and post what I already had written. That way the whole thing didn't sit in limbo for even more months. So I'll post the next part, which is going to be FULL of AkarixOwen interaction, as Ch.4 instead. =) Hope that's ok!

Also! Eggo does indeed show he has a purpose in the second half, now Ch.4, and is not just there to act cute. (Though the real reason why I picked a rat for Akari's animal companion won't be apparent until the fifth chapter. **HINT:** It has something to do with how light rat's are and their incredible sense of smell. Can you figure it out? ;-P)


	4. Chapter 4

_*Edit* Ok, this chapter was really rushed.. I need to go back and clean it up a few more times..._

**A/N: **Wh00t! Another update! :D

I really want to thank everyone for being so patient with me about this little piece of fan fiction. It means a lot. I know it's been annoying that I haven't updated in so long. ^_^

I hope this is alright, I tried to make Owen a bit more playful than in previous chapters. Not the Luke kind of playful mind you, though that would be endlessly amusing (I sense the makings of a crackfic…), but just kind of like a milder and less grumpy version of Ramsey. I'm mostly doing this because, (A). Owen always struck me as a playful person around those he likes, and, (B). Writing him like this helps to balance out his nice guy personality so he doesn't seem to be too interested in Akari just yet. (- He is of course, but just in a friendly way right now. X_x)

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

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There really wasn't much one could say about the initial floor of the Ganache Mines. It was little more than a large semi-well lit square room, with fairly old yet sturdy wooden planks supporting the ceiling on lining the inner walls of the first room, with a rusted container on the far end, what looked like a mine shaft complete with railing in the middle of the left-hand wall, a small caged area right across from that on the right-hand wall, and a small rotted out staircase towards the back that Akari could only imagine descended into the next floor. Truly, if someone had asked Akari to describe what she believed a stereotypical mine to look like, this would fit her description almost to a 't; though her version had decidedly more mine carts, little dwarfs with axe picks and hard hats, and bright red barrels of TNT placed precariously around the room.. What…? It's a perfectly valid assumption! Not her fault the only other times she saw the inner rooms of a mine were when she got bored one Saturday morning and decided to dredge through some old Looney Tunes episodes for the hell of it…

Akari had paused at the threshold that connected the tunnel to the larger room, her eyes absorbing every detail of the room before her with the utmost care. Call her odd, and by all means Akari was well aware of just how weird she seemed compared to your 'average' person, but there was just something about this place that was already putting both her at ease…

Oh sure the planks of wood looked like they hadn't been replaced in decades and seemed to be sagging under the weight of the miniature mountain that loomed above, and many of the lights seemed to be in the process of burning out as they flickered dully along the manmade ceiling. And were those the faint humming sounds of poorly installed electrical wiring she detected? However despite all these flaws, some of which were potentially quite deadly, the entire place just exhumed a sort of charm about itself that was hard for the young aspiring rancher to adequately put into words.

Even Eggo, the excitable little fellow that he was, seemed to noticeably droop as he hung partially out of her satchel to get a better peak at the area. His ears lightly flicking from left to right as his nostrils attempted to take in all the new smells the mine had to offer…

'Snap out of it.' Akari mentally grounded out. 'I'm here to find Owen, not engage in some sight seeing adventure…' Nodding slightly to herself Akari then attempted to see if Owen happened to be in the room and if she somehow missed his presence during her initial check, it always pays to be thorough, but failed to locate him. Didn't Ramsey say he would be in the mines today? Maybe he'd stepped out for lunch or something…

Sighing to herself as she crossed her arms pensively, Akari allowed her eyes to rake over the entire room once more before finally settling upon the aforementioned staircase. It looked promising at least, and it wasn't too far fetched to imagine that Owen could potentially be in the belly of the mine as opposed to being up here on ground level.

Deciding that it was worth at least a fairly brief look Akari slowly made her way to the opening in the ground from which the stairs was attached too. Her lips curling back more and more in apparent disgust as each step brought her closer to her destination.

You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me…

To say that the stairs were a pitiful sight to see would have been one of the biggest understatements of this particular century. Right up there with such greats as the existence of global warming and just how extraordinarily creepy the seal-like mayor was… For starters the floorboards that made up each of the individual steps were riddled with innumerable rotted out holes and cracks, belaying the true age and potential instability of the staircase. If that wasn't bad enough, several of the nails that were still valiantly trying to keep the staircase held up had rotted through their original placements, and were now sticking up out of the wood just waiting for some hapless passerby to take one false step before impaling themselves..

Really, if Akari didn't already have a tendency to viciously hoard what little money she still possessed, she'd have bet all of it on the fact that the stairs would probably collapse in a matter of days, or even hours depending upon how much weight was put upon them…

Tentatively, Akari extended her left foot forward until it was hovering just inches above the first of the planks on the stairs, a brief look of apprehension upon her face as she gazed upon the rather rotten piece of wood… She could barely even make out the bottom of the next floor from her current vantage point, the lack of light simply would not permit it, and as such she had no idea just how deep the stairs truly went.. What if the board broke out from under her and she broke her leg; or she plummeted down into some extremely dark and inescapable crevice? Sure, go ahead and laugh. Let's see you try to escape from one of those things…

Taking deep breath Akari slowly willed her foot to descend the final few inches to the surface of the board, but stopped woefully short of her intended goal when a large hand descended upon her shoulder.

The sudden contact caused Akari to nearly jump out of her skin, eliciting a small shriek of fright from her larynx as she felt her heart literally leap into her throat. Wouldn't you react the same if a strange hand appeared out of nowhere? Angrily she whirled around in her spot, intent on giving whomever had scared her a piece of her mind, and maybe a knuckle sandwich or two, only to come face to face with an extremely entertained looking Owen. Oh, so that's where he… Wait! Where the heck did he come from?! He wasn't here a second ago!

Scowling at her jovial companion Akari spoke out in a reproachful tone, the beats from her heart hammering in her throat from the earlier shock, "Geez Owen! Don't sneak up on me like that! I nearly had a heart attack." To emphasize this point Akari clutch her right hand above her heart, as if the action would somehow transfer itself onto the racing organ and calm it's erratic behavior.

The other just continued to grin widely as he held his hands up in a placating gesture, "Sorry about that! Wasn't attempting to frighten you." At least, Akari mused silently, he had the forethought, or at least enough sensibility, to know just what kind of pain a fairly angry woman could inflict after being scared out of her wits, to make himself sound apologetic. Though no amount of sensibility could allow him to conceal the way his eyes seemed to be dancing with amusement right then at her expense.

Yep, if there was ever any doubts of Ramsey and Owen being related floating around in in the recesses of her mind that one look single-handily demolished them. Great… Now she had to deal with another person deriving amusement at her expense… Oh joy…

"Sure you weren't…" She drawled with a bemused smile as she made a discreet attempt to check on Eggo, who had thankfully managed to scurry back into the relative safety of the satchel. Hopefully the little guy hadn't been as scared as she was by Owen's sudden appearance…

Owen let out a hearty chuckle at her tone but decided not to press the issue further. "So Akari, why are you in the mine? I thought you were working today?" Trust Owen to get straight to the point once he's had his fun.

"Ramsey sent me to find you actually." Akari replied, now remembering the reason why she was there in the first place. Pondering over your certain doom, and subsequently being scared out of your wits, has a tendency to derail whatever you were meant to be doing previously after all. "I think he needs your help with something."

"So it's that time of the day already? Well I guess we shouldn't leave the old man waiting then." Owen looked thoughtful for a moment before he went to gather up his work tools and the bits of ore he had collected earlier in the morning. Once everything was safe and secure, he shot a jovial look over his shoulder at Akari as if to say 'So are you coming or what?', and began making his way out of the mine.

Akari then jogged briskly after him, attempting to keep up with his long strides as she pondered just what he meant by his last comment.

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With Owen's quick pace it took virtually no time for the pair to make their way back into the main foyer of the blacksmith's shop. Akari knew that she should be grateful to the other for rushing back, especially since it more than made up for the time she spent investigating the mine, but why couldn't the man have walked a tiny bit slower? She practically had to run in order to keep up with him!

Which of course, couldn't have been pleasant for her smaller companion, who was stuck in the enclosed satchel as it bobbed up and down at her side during the trip.. It also didn't help that he seemed incredibly amused by how slightly winded she looked as she stopped to retrieve some air for her lungs once they stood inside the foyer of the shop.

Akari glowered lightly in his general direction, silently wishing she could find some way to wipe that damn grin off of his face.

"Oh stop that. You just need to work out more." He said apparently hearing her thoughts as he patiently leaned against one of the counters in the foyer/shop area. A good natured smirk now firmly planted on his face.

'And I think someone needs to realize that most 'normal' humans can't even possibly manage to walk **seven** miles per hour and not end up slightly out of breath…!' (1) She grumbled to herself mentally. 'Who cares if he's cute? No one can walk THAT fast and still be normal!' Wait… Did she just think what she thought she did…?

That scare she received earlier must be seriously messing with her mind…

Thankfully for the sake of Akari's rather questionable sanity, Ramsey chose that time to enter the room armed with a clipboard and a pen. Stopping slightly in front of them, he let his eyes roam over the contents of the page before taking his pen and making some quick checking motions against it. Once he seemed satisfied with his work, he glanced briefly at Owen before turning to Akari, "Well it looks like you managed to find him after all! I was almost certain it would take you longer actually..."

Akari honestly didn't know whether she should take that as some kind of off-handed compliment or an insult…

"Moving along, Owen I'm pretty sure you remember the drill." Ramsey half-asked, as he looked at his grand-nephew, who nodded in confirmation. "Good, then you can fill Akari in on any of the details she might be confused over." Handing his clipboard to a predictably confused Akari, Ramsey turned and went back into the kitchen. The reasons for his haste only becoming known to the two occupants of the foyer when the sounds of pots and pans clattering to the ground, followed by the voice of a giggling child, and the bellowing of a very ticked off old man flowed into their ears.

Akari looked at Owen uncertainly, but decided against checking on the old grump when all she received in return was a tired shrug from her companion. Apparently this happened a lot around here…

Shaking her head slightly Akari turned her attention to the clipboard that was resting in her grasp. She slowly raked her eyes over the names present on what appeared to be a sales list of some sort, dulling realizing in the back of her mind that Owen had already taken to dividing their work load as she did so.

**Ramsey's Blacksmith Shop: **

**Sales and Subsequent Deliveries - Spring 6th**

**Buyer ------------- Drop Off Location ------------- Item(s) ------------- Amount Owed**

_1. Dale-----------Bagel Carpentry-- ----------------2 hammers---------------- $7000_

_-10 boxes of nails_

_2. Craig------------ Soufflé Farm-----------------1 repaired sickle----------- $3000_

_-1 repaired spade_

_3. Yolanda -------------Kirsch Inn--------------- -2 cast-iron cooking pans--- $2300_

_4. Simon and Barbara-------General Store---------- -2 hammers ----------------$26,000_

_-5 hoes_

_-20 boxes of nails_

_-3 sickles_

_-1 fishing rod_

( A/N: *screams* This darn thing won't arrange right! I had it looking so nice in my word document... ;__; )_  
_

Ah, so it was a fairly short list then.. But wait… Why was the General Store buying all those tools from the shop? Don't they have their own selection of tools to sell? 'Maybe Owen knows…' She thought quietly to herself as she chewed on her bottom lip.

"So who does it say we should deliver to first Akari?" Owen asked out of the blue, apparently almost finished with his current task.

"Hmmm… Well, we probably should go see Dale first.. From what little I remember of the island his shop is the closest to this one, and going there first would prevent us from having to double back later with our cargo." Was her thoughtful reply as she tried to call upon her rather limited knowledge of the island. Gah! Where was Anissa's map when you needed it?

"Sounds good to me." Was the simple reply, as Owen began gathering two of the three crates into his arms. Before attempting, albeit with a bit of difficulty due to the added weight, to reach for the third.

Akari frowned to herself when she noticed this. Did he really expect to carry all that weight himself…? Surely not even Owen could manage a lug around a full ninety pounds of weight for the next few hours?

As if to prove her theory correct, the boxes currently residing in Owen's arms began to shift out of their designated places, causing their holder to nearly trip to the ground as he attempted to remedy the situation. Of course, Owen being what Akari was now assuming was his normal stubborn self didn't seem at all daunted by this as he once again attempted to pick up the last crate once everything was securely back in place.

This process repeated itself several more times, a couple of which nearly resulted in the total decimation of one of the iron works on the shop's walls. Which of course almost caused Eggo, who was trying his hardest to be a good little satchel companion and keep quiet, to nearly jump straight out of his hiding spot. Until finally a rather bemused Akari decided to step in and with some difficultly managed to lift the final crate and put it just out of her companion's reach. "Don't worry Owen, I'll carry this one."

Owen looked slightly deflated by this, about the closest thing to a pout Akari imagined someone like him could muster, but managed to keep his emotions in tact. "You sure Akari? Those boxes are pretty heavy."

"I know." She chirped back as she set the crate down on the nearest counter and then proceeded to stick the majority of the smaller boxes into the confines of her rucksack. It was a tight fit, but after much pushing and shoving on her part all the boxes were finally deep enough in the rucksack to allow Akari to zip it up properly.

"Besides, I just don't think having to carry almost all the merchandise and leaving me with all these small parcels is very fair to you. This way at least we're somewhat equally sharing the work." At this she offered him a friendly smile, hoping to further convince him that she didn't mind the extra weight at all.

"Alright if you say so." He returned the grin, before turning to the door once he was sure that the both of them were ready. It took him a few moments to shift the crates in his arms in just the right way as to allow himself to grasp the doorknob, leaving Akari snickering quietly behind him at the comical sight that he made. Even Eggo seemed to be amused if the quiet squeaks coming from her satchel were any indication. Eventually however he managed to swing the door open with not all that much effort.

Once the door was safely shut behind him Owen glanced over at Akari. "So Dale's first?"

"Yep." She replied as she double checked the clipboard.

"Well then, we better get going." Owen sent her a friendly smile before indicating that the two of them should set off towards the Carpentry Shop.

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Thirty minutes and $7,000 later, saw the two of them, well three if you count little Eggo, nearing their next destination. The whole affair at Dale's had been rather quick all things considered, though it was complicated by Luke's antics to a small extent. How anyone was dumb enough to super glue their hand to a piece of plywood, and then proceed like a rampaging pull in a china shop around the building in a resulting attempt to remove said object was beyond Akari's understanding. Still it had amused the three of them greatly, though Owen tried to hide it with limited success for the sake of being polite while on the job. Where as she and Eggo, who nearly fell out of his satchel, however were forced into pure hysterics at the sight.

Ah, poor Luke.. The guy just can't catch a break sometimes.

With that hilarious episode behind them, the small group decided to head towards the Soufflé farm to make the next delivery. It was the next logical place to go after all, and until Luke got the use of his hand back to attempt to clear a hole through the root that blocked their passage near her home they'd just have to backtrack for a bit.

Akari would be lying if she didn't admit to feeling some sort of mixture of relief and downright disappointment upon hearing that the root didn't apparently lead to the lair of apparently carnivorous sentient green blobs of gelatin like she had previously mused…

Oh well, the world was probably safer for it she guessed…

It didn't take them much longer to reach the rather quaint farm at the end of the dirt road, what with it being only a few minutes walk from both Dale's and the Blacksmith's, and for the first few minutes everything was going fairly well by Akari's standards. Anissa was attempting to fill out the final forms to complete her family's transaction as her mother expertly inspected the tools that they had asked to be repaired in an attempt to find any flaws. So far she had yet to find any, not much of a shock given who repaired the tools, and seemed rather happy with the work that had been done. Yes, all was going quite well..

Of course, you can always trust Craig to put that all to ruin…

"Wow squirt, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be off trying to kill some poor defenseless plant by now." The older man asked with a grin as he slapped her on the shoulder in what she had since learned was his own awkward variation of shaking hands with another person.

Did Akari ever mention how much she _LOVED _Craig? No? Not ever…? Good, then she knew her sanity was at least somewhat intact.. (A/N: I love Craig for the record.. xD)

"Sorry that I didn't live up to your expectations.." Akari quipped sarcastically. "I took a part time job at the Blacksmith's for your information." She crossed her arms and attempted to shot a blazing glare his way, daring him to continue. So she didn't exactly have a green thumb; big deal.. No need to constantly remind her of that fact.

Sadly for Akari, whenever she glared at someone she tended to look more like an puffed up version of an angry puppy than anything remotely intimidating. Which of course elicited a long hearty chuckle from Craig, much to her indignation.

All of this of course attracted the attention of Eggo, who was wondering why his companion was emitted such negative emotions. Once he managed to peak his head out of the head however, his ears flattened upon his head as he was instantly filled with aggravation at the sight before him. How dare that human harass the nice human girl..! Only he could harass Akari and get away with it... Well he'd remedy this little problem.. Oh yes…

Craig continued to laugh at Akari's expense for a little while longer, much to her continued annoyance and the ire of the other occupants of the room.

"I wish father would stop bugging Akari.." Anissa said with a heavy sigh as she watched the drama unfold. She knew her father wasn't inherently a mean individual, no matter how much others would say differently about him. Rather he was simply the most social inept person she had ever encountered, and that caused him to be rather ignorant of how to deal with other people. His family knew about this, and had even come to learn to see the affection hidden deep beneath his otherwise harsh words. However despite their tolerance Anissa couldn't help but wish that her father would make a better effort to learn how to react properly around other people..

Ruth and Owen merely nodded their heads in tired agreement as they watched the ensuing bickering between the two.

Part of Owen wished to step forward and help Akari fend off Craig's verbal jabs, but given his own encounters with the man at the Blacksmith's shop he couldn't help but feel somewhat uncertain about how he should react. It wasn't necessarily Craig's fault that he had no social skills. Besides, from what he had seen of Akari she could more than take care of herself when needed. So as much as he wanted to come to her rescue he felt that it wouldn't be necessary, and after a few moments resolved to simply watch what was unfolding before him. That said however, if things started to get ugly between the two of them he wouldn't hesitate to step in.

Too bad, or thankfully, for him a small critter had the same idea in mind, and chose to act upon it before things got any worse...

"And another thing…. OWWWWW!!!" Craig yelped as he was abruptly cut off by the sight of a small rodent launching itself out of nowhere towards his face and then subsequently proceeding to chomp straight down on his nose once it got there. He tried pulling the fawn colored rat off of his face, but the fuzzy critter seemed to have locked it's jaws. For no matter how hard he pulled he simply couldn't remove it.

'Let's see you laugh now you over sized pin cushion.' Eggo thought to himself as he chewed on the offending nose, intent on inflicting as much punishment as possible upon the person who dared hurt his new companion.

All of this left Akari in stunned silence as she watched the scene unfold before her; vaguely aware of the peals of laughter being made by the other occupants of the room. Part of her wanted to laugh at the scene before her, the others certainly seemed to find it amusing if their own chuckles could be believed. Another part of her wanted to start gloating over this new turn of events, after all it was the first time she had ever seen someone, or more likely some thing, turn the tables on the old miser and she wanted to savor the moment as much as humanly possible. Heck, part of her wanted to do both simultaneously as she cheered Eggo on!

However after seeing the increasingly violent tugs that Craig was applying to the rodent's body as he attempted to free himself, her mind just sort of pushed all those ideas aside as she jumped up to save him. The fact that she inadvertently elbowed Craig in the face as she attempted to get at Eggo was something she would definitely savor at a later time though, mark her words.

Eggo himself was at that moment starting to feel rather ill, what with the constant spinning around and all the jerking that was being done to his body as the human attempted to free himself. So when he felt the big human's hands remove themselves from his torso and be replaced by a pair of smaller ones that gently pulled him away he willingly let go, thankful for the break.

Maybe now that large human would learn to keep his mouth shut.. He'd better; unless he wanted to be liberated of his digit's the next time..

Huffing slightly Akari gently pulled Eggo away from Craig's face as the older man moved away to find something to staunch the steady stream of blood that was trickling down his face. Ignoring the older man she carefully inspected the rodent's body for any injuries, breathing out a sigh of relief when she found none.

Thank goodness…

For his own part, Eggo was feeling quite triumphant despite his apparent nausea and disorientation; and eagerly looked up at Akari to see what she thought of his little stunt. Hey, that jump from the satchel wasn't exactly easy! And have you ever seen how hard it is to hold onto a piece of cartilage when you're being violently yanked about? He believed he deserved at least some praise for going through all that, thank you very much, and was greatly enthused when Akari lent down and offered him a grateful smile.

"Great work little guy." She whispered fondly to the rodent, who puffed out his tiny chest in pride. Maybe he wouldn't be so bad to have around after all… Heck, maybe Craig would finally leave her alone now so long as she had Eggo… Nah.. The old miser was simply too ornery to give up his favorite pastime of 'Harass Akari till she goes off the deep end'. How on earth did Ruth manage to keep that man in line without going insane?

'Wait.. Ruth! Oh shit, I forgot!' Akari suddenly remembering the other three occupants in the room, who were still laughing to themselves; albeit now a little more subdued than before. Though they were now focused upon her and the rodent in her clutches rather than completely focusing upon the still flailing Craig. Owen especially seemed rather amused as he quirked an eyebrow in her direction.

'Well I guess the cat is out of the bag now..' She thought as she looked down at the very pleased rodent that only she and Chloe knew about up until now... Might as well bite the bullet…

"Er… I can explain this…"

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**A/N:** :3 So… What do you think?

**(1):** The average human can walk 2-3 miles per hour; and in addition to that the average running speed for a human is around 12 miles per hour. (Give or take a few mph depending upon athletic abilities.) So you can see why Akari is grumbling about Owen's pace… xD I have a brother-in-law who is exactly like Owen in this regard actually. I'm a pretty fast walker myself, despite having short legs and even smaller strides, but even I have a hard time keeping up with him! O__x

Next chapter will probably involve a few time jumps if I still do what I have planned, however I do intend to at least try and introduce Selena as one of Akari's friends. (What? Most people don't like her but Selena was probably one of my favorite people in the game. X3)

**Update:** I'd like to inform you all I'm going on hiatus from this story for a bit. I'm kind of irritated with how I've been proceeding with it to the point where just thinking about this story inspires feelings of rage within myself. So yeah... I'll try to get back to writing as soon as I can, but I need a bit more of a break from it.. Otherwise I'm liable to go crazy and just delete it. ___


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